Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has made a striking statement about his 2017 meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow.
Globalinfo.az reports that he spoke about it on the “Tres Respuestas” podcast.
According to the former prime minister, in 2017, while serving as British foreign secretary, he sought to open a new page in relations with Russia.
To that end he travelled to Moscow hoping to meet President Vladimir Putin, but Putin declined the meeting.
Johnson recalled the episode:
“I tried to rebuild our relations with Russia, but it ended in disaster. In 2017, as British foreign secretary, I went to Moscow to meet Putin. He refused to meet me, and I met Lavrov. He sat me down in front of a very hot fireplace and forced me to drink an excessive amount of vodka. It was literally like a punishment used in Victorian English schools. It was terrible. On top of that, we achieved nothing.”
Johnson added that the attempt at diplomatic rapprochement with Russia had failed. In the period that followed he also sharply criticised Russia’s position on events taking place in Britain and said no concessions were possible in relations with Moscow.
Recall that Johnson’s claim about being seated in front of a fireplace during his meeting with Lavrov first came to public attention in 2024. The former British prime minister also described the episode in his memoir “Unleashed”.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov denied Johnson’s claims in an interview with the publication Argumenty i Fakty on 21 October 2024.
According to Lavrov, the meeting took place in winter, so the fireplace in the reception room was lit.
He said this was intended to create a comfortable and cordial atmosphere for foreign guests.
Lavrov also noted that there was a distance of about two metres between him and Johnson and that he did not see on his face the beads of sweat that Johnson claims. The Russian foreign minister stressed that the former British prime minister had presented the episode in his own particular way.
Note that Boris Johnson’s visit to Moscow took place on 22 December 2017. It was the first visit by a British foreign secretary to Russia in more than five years. At that time relations between London and Moscow were severely strained over the Ukraine crisis, the annexation of Crimea, the situation in Syria and cybersecurity issues. During the meeting the sides openly set out their differences, with disputes in particular over Ukraine and Russia’s policy towards Western countries. Nevertheless, Johnson said the two countries also had common interests and that dialogue must continue.
Aliyar Khalil
Globalinfo.az
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